SEYMOUR PAUL, PETITIONER,
v.
MARY PAUL, RESPONDENT

Fla. 3d DCA | 1979-01-30
No. 78-1178
Before PEARSON, HENDRY and BARKDULL, JJ.
366 So. 2d 853 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1979) Caution
Cited by 12 cases

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Synopsis

In a dissolution of marriage case, the Florida Third District Court of Appeal granted a petition for certiorari to quash an order requiring the husband to submit to mental and physical examinations. The court held that the wife failed to establish the two essential prerequisites for compulsory examination: that the mental/physical condition be 'in controversy' and that 'good cause' exist.


Holding

The petition for certiorari is granted and the order compelling the husband's mental and physical examination is quashed. The wife, as the moving party, failed to make an affirmative showing that the husband's mental or physical condition was in controversy or that good cause existed for the examinations, as the issue had not been raised in any prior pleadings.


Headnotes

[1] A party seeking a compulsory mental or physical examination must demonstrate that the party's mental or physical condition is "in controversy" and that "good cause" exist…

[2] A party's mental or physical condition is "in controversy" when it is directly involved in a material element of the cause of action or defense.

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Key Quotes

“the mental condition of the party against whom the order is sought must be 'in controversy,' i. e., directly involved in some material element of the cause of action or defense and that 'good cause' be shown, i. e., that the mental state of the party, even though in controversy, could not adequately be evidenced without assistance of expert medical testimony.”

Establishes the two essential prerequisites for compulsory mental and physical examination under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.360(a)

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Facts & Procedural History

Husband initiated a dissolution of marriage action seeking partition of the residence and establishment of a special equity in the wife's separate pro…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Petitioner seeks our writ of common law certiorari to review an order of the circuit court, entered in a dissolution of marriage proceeding requiring the petitioner to submit to a mental and physical examination.

The sole question presented for our consideration is whether the record reflects that the two essential prerequisites have been satisfied regarding compulsory mental and physical examination.

Pursuant to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.360(a) and the case law authority interpreting same, the mental condition of the party against whom the order is sought must be “in controversy,” i. e., directly involved in some material element of the cause of action or defense and that “good cause” be shown, i. e., that the mental state of the party, even though in controversy, could not adequately be evidenced without assistance of expert medical testimony. Gasparino v. Murphy, 352 So. 2d 933 (Fla.2d DCA 1977).

Petitioner/husband instituted the action seeking dissolution of marriage, partition of the parties’ residence, and the establishment of a special equity in the wife’s separate property; wife timely served an answer and counterclaim, containing admissions and denials and seeking dissolution and establishment of a special equity in the husband’s separate property. Thereafter wife filed affirmative defenses to husband’s special equity claim, and the husband filed his answer, affirmative defenses to wife’s counterclaim, as well as a motion to require the wife to submit to a physical examination. Wife subsequently filed a motion to require the husband to submit to a physical and mental examination. After hearing on the motions, the trial court granted both motions for examinations of the respective parties. Wife has not sought review of the order with regard to her physical examination,1 but husband has and the order compelling him to submit to a physical and mental examination is the subject of this common-law writ of certiorari.

The wife’s unverified and unsupported motion to require petitioner to submit to a physical and mental examination recites as grounds for the examinations: “. that on information and belief the petitioner is a person of unstable neurological background, is incompetent and mentally deranged . . . it is essential in the prosecution of this case that the petitioner’s mental powers be adjudicated. That it is necessary to appoint an impartial physician or physicians to examine the petitioner and render an opinion as to petitioner’s state of mind.” The issue of the physical and/or mental condition of the husband had not been raised in any prior pleadings in the cause and, clearly, the wife’s motion did not adequately fulfill the required showing that the husband’s mental or physical condition was “in controversy” and that there was “good cause” for the examinations. See Gasparino v. Murphy, supra; Schlagenhauf v. Holder, 379 U.S. 104, 85 S.Ct. 234, 13 L.Ed. 152 (1964), and Gordon v. Davis, 267 So. 2d 874 (Fla.3d DCA 1972), which, in discussing Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25, from which Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.360 is derived, sets forth the guidelines for compulsory mental and physical examinations.

Since the wife as the moving party has failed to make an affirmative showing that the husband’s mental or physical condition was in controversy and that there was good cause for the examinations requested, the petition for certiorari is granted and the order of the circuit court be and is hereby quashed.

It is so ordered.

. Although not the subject of review, the record reflects that the wife’s physical condition was, in fact, raised early in the cause as the basis for wife’s claims for support; that is, her “frail health.”


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Citator

Cited By

  • Schottenstein v. Schottenstein, 384 So. 2d 933 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980)
    …77). A compulsory mental examination has been traditionally deemed an invasion of privacy which will only be tolerated upon a showing of good cause.6 Marroni v. Matey, 82 F.R.D. 371 (E.D.Pa.1979); Schuppin v. Unification Church, supra; Paul v. Paul, 366 So. 2d 853 (Fla.3d DCA 1979). This requirement of good cause is simply not met by a showing that the children were sometimes upset when they returned from a visitation with their father, or by the father’s desire to give his children a sense of value about mon…
  • S.L. Wade v. D.T. Wade, 124 So. 3d 369 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013)
    …ts of ‘in controversy and ‘good cause’ ”). There is a heightened burden of proof when the party subject to the forced examination has not voluntarily placed that issue in controversy. Schlagenhauf, 379 U.S. at 119-20, 85 S.Ct. 234. In Paul v. Paul, 366 So. 2d 853 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979), the trial court ordered the husband in a dissolution of marriage action to submit to compulsory mental and physical examinations. Id. at 853. In addressing whether the record reflects that the two prerequisites for a compulsory e…
  • Williams v. Williams, 550 So. 2d 166 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989)
    …rsy” nor demonstrate “good cause” for submission to examination. Fruh v. State, Department of Health & Rehabilitative Services, 430 So. 2d 581 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983). See also Kristensen v. Kristensen, 406 So. 2d 1210 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981); Paul v. Paul, 366 So. 2d 853 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979).1 Nor does the record demonstrate “good cause” for the ordered examination. Although the appellant did not submit to examination by the agency which the court had specified, he did have a neuropsychia-tric examination shortly aft…

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